Hebrew word · H5190

נָטַל

natal

to lift

Lift, take up, bear (Isaiah 63:9, 'he lifted them and carried them'). Also lay upon, impose (Lamentations 3:28; 2 Samuel 24:12). The related noun nēṭel means 'weight, burden' (Proverbs 27:3).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to lift, bear, bear up

1a) (Qal) to lift, lift over, lift upon, set up

1b) (Piel) to bear up

Aramaic equivalent: ne.tal (נְטַל "to lift" H5191)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 40:15

Range of meaning

Lift, take up, bear (Isaiah 63:9, 'he lifted them and carried them'). Also lay upon, impose (Lamentations 3:28; 2 Samuel 24:12). The related noun nēṭel means 'weight, burden' (Proverbs 27:3).

Against the English

'lifts up' (BSB, WEB, NASB), 'taketh up' (KJV, YLT), 'takes up' (ESV). NIV renders it 'weighs', which takes the weight sense of the root.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is rare in Hebrew and more common in Aramaic, where it means 'lift'. The Septuagint does not translate 'lifts' directly. The Vulgate has no verb in this line.

From the study of Lamentations 3:28

Range of meaning

A rare verb: to lift, carry, bear (Isa 40:15, God "lifts up" the islands; Isa 63:9, he "lifted" his people; Zeph 1:11, "those who carry silver"), and also to lay or impose a load on someone (2 Sam 24:12, "three things I lay on you", where the parallel 1 Chr 21:10 uses a different verb).

Against the English

KJV "he hath borne it" takes the sense "carry" with the man as subject. Most modern versions take "lay upon" with God as subject. BSB and NIV write "the LORD" into the text. ESV avoids naming anyone with a passive ("when it is laid on him").

Used elsewhere in the period

The LXX (ēren eph' heautō, "he took it upon himself") and the Vulgate (levavit super se, "he lifted it upon himself") both make the man the subject. In 2 Sam 24:12 the identical phrase natal al means God imposing a burden.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 24:12 נוֹטֵ֣ל [am] laying

    “Go and tell David that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am offering you three options. Choose one of them, and I will carry it out against you.’”

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 40:15 יִטּֽוֹל׃ he lifts

    Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered a speck of dust on the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

    Here: 'He lifts.' God picks up whole coastlands as easily as a speck. The verb is tied to the noun 'weight' (Proverbs 27:3), so the scale picture carries on: God lifts them and feels no weight.

  2. Isaiah 63:9 וַֽיְנַטְּלֵ֥ם and he lifted up them

    In all their distress, He too was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them. In His love and compassion He redeemed them; He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

    Here: "And he lifted them up": picking up a load or a child. This intensive form is rare, and it pictures God physically raising them.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 3:28 נָטַ֖ל he has laid [it]

    Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it upon him.

    Here: "He has laid." A rare verb that can mean either lifting and carrying, or laying a load on someone. The subject is not named. It is most naturally God (compare 2 Sam 24:12, "three things I am laying on you"), though the ancient Greek and Latin took it as the man taking the load on himself.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.